Evaluation of Intra-abdominal Disease of Obscure Cause

DESPITE INTENSIVE investigation of patients whose symptoms are abdominal pain or weight loss, the cause of the pain is not diagnosed in a rather large number of patients. In 1957, Ödman1outlined the potentialities of selective arteriography of the celiac axis for detecting intra-abdominal disease processes. Since that time other authors2,3,4have demonstrated its value in the assessment of mass lesions of the gastrointestinal tract as well as in the evaluation of patients suspected of having occlusive disease of the celiac or mesenteric arteries. A review of the literature discloses that in most series the indication for celiac or superior mesenteric arteriography has been for the elucidation of known disease processes. The purpose of this report is to present an analysis of the arteriographic findings in patients with abdominal pain or weight loss in whom the diagnoses were not made by the usual methods. Materials and Methods One-hundred